Five cops suspended after beating mentally-disabled homeless man to death
(CBS/KCBS/AP) SANTA ANA, Calif. - Residents in Fullerton, Calif., are outraged after a mentally-disabled homeless man died following a physical confrontation with five police officers.
In surveillance video taken aboard an Orange County Transportation Authority bus, passengers say officers pounded 37-year-old Kelly Thomas' face and hogtied him as he cried out for his father. The video was made public on Tuesday.
According to CBS station KCBS, officers confronted Thomas, who suffered from schizophrenia, on July 5 while investigating reports of a man burglarizing cars near the Fullerton Transportation Center.
Police said Thomas ran away as officers tried to search his backpack. This triggered an altercation that eventually involved six officers whose names have not been released.
One officer was initially placed on paid administrative leave. Police Chief Michael F. Sellers then decided to do the same for the other five officers on Tuesday, according to department spokesman Sgt. Andrew Goodrich.
Thomas suffered severe head and neck injuries and was taken off life support on July 10. An autopsy conducted Tuesday night was inconclusive about his cause of death.
